Dredd 3-D Review

Judge, Jury and executioner, the 'judges', a futuristic cop-team who won't take no for an answer are faced with the influx of a new popular drug, aptly named 'Slo-Mo'. It's the job of Judge Dredd and his newly appointed rookie to investigate the drugs ring and ultimately 'bring em down'! 

An oddly popular technique within comic book adaptations is to strip them down to the bare bone, where it simply becomes a basic (and usually corny) story about a badly dressed man with an unorthodox fighting style. All the positives of an accomplished series are diminished in seconds as we see our favourite hero's lose all their credibility, uniqueness and likability through scenes of careless ridiculousness. Of course there are exceptions, most notably being Christopher Nolan's batman series and of course the recent release of Dredd 3-D.

Contrary to many films of a similar theme, Dredd (or Dredd 3-D if you must) actually manages to live up to it's highly violent name, which is something to be expected of from a graphic novel. Ignoring the 'warnings' over box-office intake through incorrect target market, Dredd produces a much deserved sturdy '18' certificate, wanting to portray a realistic representation of the comics and doing just that...x10. Armed with countless amounts of unique bullets, Dredd intelligently slaughters those who stand in his way through a plethora of mediums including, fire, explosives and good ol' brute force! Creating for a thrilling hour and a half of action in which no one person dies the same way. This hardcore action is aided by the exceptional use of Slow-Motion, used not only as a plot-device but also for some truly stunning visuals. Whilst a bullet tearing through a man's cheek may not be the most delightful of images it certainly helps to convey the brutal pain that the 'judges' deliver. Especially effective was the use of slow-motion within a POV shot, casting a eerily realistic shadow over the scene, as we follow the victim descending to their inevitable death through the building in an all too beautiful 3rd dimension. Being the only impressive 3-D film to date, Dredd takes this technological premise and uses it as an immersive technique rather than an ineffective money-grabber by sending blood and similar debris flying at the screen. Never over-dramatized, the 3-D is always there but not always noticeable allowing the audience to become truly involved within the action.

 Taking the reigns from the brilliant yet diabolical performance of Sylvestor Stallone's chin is a difficult challenge for a majority of actors, which makes Karl Urban's performance all the more mesmerising. In a sense mimicking the work of Stallone, Urban manages to create the same aura of intimidation without the temptation of removing his helmet. Every judgement is brutal, yet voiced in a comedic style, as you begin to support this oddly likable mass murderer with morals. Following him in his activities is his undeniably useful rookie 'Anderson' carrying the ability to read minds, a premise initially shunned but which actually proved to be used extremely effectively. Poignantly used in the harrowing interrogation scene, this psychic ability, although debateably unnecessary, did insert some much needed change into the otherwise linear narrative, which wasn't aided by the tame leadership of the anti-hero.

Ma-ma, a babies first word and now apparently a threatening name for a diabolically sick ringleader, who aims to take over the city after she takes down the law. Quite an ambitious ask for a tame performance from the poorly casted Lena Headey, with her femininity protruding too much from the male-dominated gang. None of her commands felt genuine and once she grasped the mounted machine gun and mindlessly obliterated a whole floor a huge dose of unrealistic stupidity seeped in.

 An immersive narrative isn't wholly necessary here, a thrilling experience can be created through it's multitude of barbarically graphic action sequences. Delivering unprecedented creative techniques in order to convey unbearable pain and fear, Dredd certainly wipes the floor with the rest of it's comic book competitors. After all who wants to see some dumbed-down unrealistic action when you could see the whole picture in all it's explosive glory.

80%- Justice has been served for 1995

Calum Russell

Jeff Who Lives At Home DVD Review

Trailer- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34kCWAsddtA

From the largely unknown, yet progressively intelligent minds of the independent, ' Duplass Brothers' comes a  heart-felt drama following 'Jeff', a middle-aged man attempting to discover his destiny through his philosophical morals.  Contrary to the masses of similarly themed Dramas, Jeff Who Lives At Home supplies the refreshing original story which cinema-goers are beginning to desperately desire. A story which has no heavy burdens of direct comparison to a book, TV programme or real life account, considerably working in it's favor.

 Unlike many films of the same genre, the Duplass Brothers achieve in the portrayal of a realistic narrative containing not only relatable but also lovable character's. The moment we set foot into the lonely domain of  Jason Segel, we feel it a crime to let go, portraying his delicate persona immediately through the mediums of simple visual signifiers and erratic decisions. As the film progresses throughout the single day on which it's set, a similar sense of attachment is felt with the other family members, despite their juxtaposition of contrasting personalities. Jeff's brother (Ed Helms) plays the misguided selfish caricature well enough to be believable, whilst the seemly lost mother (Susan Sarandon) wonders aimlessly around her office continuing on her linear lifestyle. Although the story may hit some inevitable 'steed-bumps of contrivity' they can usually be  overlooked due to the context from which they've been extracted. Some occasions do break the stupidity barrier, creating magnificently fortunate situations out of nowhere, to the pleasant surprise of the character's .All occurrences however, contrived or not carry a particular importance, which build up to the final climax carrying bags of positive life-relating messages.

 Much expected from a film surrounding the philosophical beliefs of a troubled man are a handful of life-implementing messages, however relatable or irrelevant they may be.  The initial message remains to be the most poignant one, 'grasp every opportunity, everything happens for a reason' however many others are also brushed upon. It's very much the interpretation of the viewer to which messages they perceive to be the most important, a personal relation which will ultimately determine how much one get's from the picture . For so many messages to be accurately conveyed, a certain coagulation of relationships between characters must be achieved, which this film successfully accomplishes, through the accurate depiction of a troubled family . The brother to brother chemistry especially within this film remains it's strongest attribute, upon every meeting a relaxed comfortable atmosphere is conveyed allowing, the audience to do just the same allowing for more  appreciation on the acting of those involved. This is a feat which is considerably helped by the almost child-like soundtrack, displaying the tiny steps of developing a relationship, raising the scenes positivity every time it's played.

 In a year of conventional, 3-D action flicks and half-hearted drama's, Jeff Who Lives At Home, is a huge breath of fresh air. Despite it's inevitably predictable plot to the climax, it never fails to entice you throughout, gripping the audience through a variety of conventions. Heart-felt, meaningful and charming, one of the best film's of the year so far.

85%- Call this cliched, but Jeff Who Lives At Home is truly the 'feelgood film of the year'!

Calum Russell

Dead Silence (DVD Review)

Despite its deeply unsettling properties, few horror films have dared to venture into the difficult reanimation of ventriloquist dummies on screen. Until James Wan the director of the increasingly depressing 'saw' films took it upon himself to create such that. Starring a string of relatively unknown actors, from Ryan Kwanten to Donnie Wahlberg, Dead silence stylises itself within an ancient myth surrounding the murder of a persistent ventriloquist.

  The dead-pan faces, the piercing eyes, the dislocated jaw, dummies are certainly a horrific piece of 'entertainment' which are all too easy to insert into a horror film. The trick is to be subtle. Which this film seems incapable of doing. Following our less than enthusiastic protagonist as he retraces the origins of the dummy, we are immediately introduced to this films sadistic, wooden anti-hero 'billy'. Attempting to spark fear in the hearts of the audience, the dummy soon starts to possess 'terrifying' human qualities, like the turning or his eyes, the turning of his eyes and.... the turning of his eyes. Knowing that they were limited to how realistic a dummy can be, they have ultimately restricted themselves to simple, tame eye and head movements, which soon become laughable as piercing violins accompany the action every time he appears. This continues for the majority of the film as Wan concocts a new method in scaring the audience. Soon the ghost of the bewitched ventriloquist appears, adding another horror element to the films slowly building horror dictionary, a step in the right direction as this debilitated ghost truly supplies some unsettling scenes of personal intimidation. Perhaps the only real, legitimate scare within this film, with the others lacking behind being mostly cheap and formulaic. Following the poignant fright dispenser of the dummy is a hugely embarrassing plot point used to convey their 'terrifying' myth. Whenever the demented dummy is near, the characters surroundings fills with 'dead silence' (hence the fitting title) a pathetic attempt to provide an excuse for their repetitive use of the constantly effective jump-scare. As the increasingly ridiculous plot procrastinates forwards, and half-heartedly throws expanding plot points in the air, a large sense of imminent disappointment could be conjured, and much to my expectation such disappointment was delivered in the less than satisfactory climax.

 Diagnosed with a short-term case of severe memory loss, the previous hour and a half of pointless story telling goes to waste, as the film produces a whole new plot point during the climactic 5 minutes, then curls it back to link in with a boring unexplored aspect of the previous hour. The 'twist' itself was surprisingly clever, despite its exceptional predictability, even if it made no coherent sense which proved to be a familiar theme throughout the film. With all these plot points bound together on a flimsy stick, it was almost inevitable that the stick would snap and the film would fall to pieces leaving untied plot points for your frustrated mind to decipher. Contrived occurrences go unexplained and forgotten plot points are left to rot, as this film trundles on, ecstatic at its partially effective chilling narrative, oblivious to the mess it leaves behind.

 Focussing too much on the deprived horror techniques, the basic screenplay and character development has been totally neglected. Producing an array of insignificant characters destined for the death reel, that contribute nothing to the developing plot, adding only embarrassing comedy value.  These useless and obviously stereotypical characters aren’t helped by the lackadaisical actors that voices embody them. Our seemingly schizophrenic protagonist nonsensically frequently switches between terrified widower, heroic action man and professional detective, providing for a truly unrealistic performance. Played by the depressingly terrible Ryan Kwanten, this performance was the bane of the film dragging each scene down to an unbearable pace, treating the scenes of horror as scenes of comedy; however this performance is by no means the worst. Following him on his journey (for no reason whatsoever) is the amateurish policeman Donnie Wahlberg, the man incapable of making an arrest despite his regular ‘run-ins’ with his suspect.  At no point was any connection felt with the characters, learning to loath them rather than love them, hoping they would meet their impending doom, just so no more worthless script work could drain out their mouths.

 From the oddly creative yet undeniably revolting mind of ‘saw’ comes an awful depiction of one of the most universally unattractive forms of entertainment.  What should’ve been deeply unsettling became predictably boring. Horror elements recycled characters as deep as the ‘shallow end’, and actors worthy of the prestigious ‘razzie’. A missed opportunity on what could’ve been gold.

20%- Should come with a free pillow.

Calum Russell

Berberian Sound Studio - Review

Paying a certain homage to early low-budget horror flicks, The Berberian Sound Studio is the latest film by the acclaimed Peter Strickland, taking us into the heart of watermelon-smashing sound effect production.  Venturing into the intimidating atmosphere of an eerie sound studio, we are introduced to the timid Toby Jones, who immediately becomes a victim to the piercing personalities of the crew members and the discriminatory language barrier. The genre of the film is soon unravelled to the character, through a dark, satanic opening credit sequence, immediately causing anxiety and regret to seep in, as he begins work on the 'vegetable slaughtering' sound effects.

 This premise takes time to come into it's own, with the first half of the film full of a worried shots of our protagonist. Getting into scraps and beating himself up, only to return to yet more vegetable butchering. Although this builds up suspense in an oddly enticing manner, it also provides for a deeply frustrating, repetitive film experience. As the film continues however 'the plot thickens' becoming a lot more intriguing, throwing different ingredients into the mix to provide for an unpredictable climax. However these ideas never seem to stop reproducing,  resulting in the film over-complicating itself, displaying a wide plethora of possible plot directions, but never picking a route. Theories are listed in your brain only to be thwarted by a nonsensical anticlimax, choosing a route previously unexplored. This wouldn't have been a problem if it wasn't for the insufficient amount of detail and information surrounding the ending, making it almost indecipherable to the audience.

 Despite this over-complication there was a strong underlying, universal feeling of intrigue regarding the conclusion. Eyes were unable to prise away from the screen, due to unexpected technical and physical factors.

 Something to be expected of from a film named after a vital aspect of film, is a quality soundtrack, with daunting 'sfx' to match, and while the soundtrack doesn't display the most conventional of anthems, it is certainly compelling. With the majority of soundtracks interpreting the surrounding effects of whirring film reel's and the splattering decapitation of fruits. Sound plays a huge part in this film in order to contrast scenes of innocence into something a lot more sinister. 

 Toby Jones conveys a character who is all to relatable, nervously entering the country unable to speak a word of the native language. As he becomes visibly intimidated by the dislike able crew members, we develop an unexpected attachment to him, as we cling onto our last hope of familiarity. 

 This film undoubtedly screams with artistic flare and integrity, producing some truly awe-inspiring cinema. However it's bizarre prominent apprehension to develop, provides for an initial bore of an experience, it's only until the climax is approached that the film becomes truly enthralling. A disappointment, after The Berberian Sound Studio displays glimpses of a masterpiece.

65%- An aesthetically beautiful treat for the senses, despite it's convoluted plot.

Calum Russell